ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, July 24, 1996 TAG: 9607240053
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: RICHMOND
SOURCE: Associated Press
The Golden Years task force has spent thousands of dollars, run down every lead it could find, investigated every phone call it received - and still has come to a dead end.
``It has come to an abrupt standstill,'' Richmond Police Chief Jerry Oliver said Monday.
Operation Golden Years was started in April to investigate the unsolved murders of at least 14 older women in the city. Some similarities in the women's deaths led police to suspect a serial killer may have been responsible for at least some of the slayings.
The task force has made an arrest in one case, but the other 13 cases, dating back to July 1990, remain unsolved.
The operation started with a flurry of publicity. Phone calls and tips came rolling in to police; but as time has gone on, the tips have stopped coming.
``The information has sort of dried up,'' he said.
He also said the operation has cost the city at least $318,000 so far. That includes fixed costs, such as salaries of officers and administrators assigned to the operation, and variable costs for other officers and equipment.
The list Oliver gave to City Council didn't include money spent by other agencies involved in the investigations. The FBI has contributed a computer and agents, the Virginia State Police has contributed a team of computer experts, and police departments in Chesterfield, Hanover and Henrico counties have helped with manpower.
Oliver said the task force had developed one major suspect but later found the man wasn't involved.
LENGTH: Short : 39 linesby CNB